Tushek Renovatio T500: Slovenia’s First Supercar

In the old days, if you wanted a pure blooded supercar, you needed to make a quick stop in Italy, Germany, the UK or the US. A little later, countries like Sweden and the Netherlands got into the game with nameplates like Koenigsegg and Spyker. With the coming of the Rimac Concept One, Croatia is making a name for itself. Now, the Slovenians have offered their own gambit, the $370,000 Renovatio T500 by Tushek which premiered in London at the 2012 Salon Privé. Could be interesting, no? Let’s see if Tushek can hang with the likes of Lamborghini, McLaren, SRT or Porsche.

Tushek Renovatio T500

One of the keys to a good supercar is exclusivity. You can’t very well pull into a Bloomingdale’s parking lot and see four or five variations of your car. Tushek has that covered. They only plan to make thirty Renovatio T500s over three years. Then, when you combine the fact that each Renovation T500 is relatively bespoke in terms of spec and material options, the odds of parking next to your twin becomes quite remote.

Mid-Mounted Audi V8

OK, performance. Speed and handling are essential. The Tushek Renovatio T500 mid-mounts the engine from the Audi RS4, a 32 valve 4.2 liter 450 hp V8 with 315 ft-lbs of torque at 3,200 rpm strapped to a 6-speed manual gearbox (so glad someone is still using manual). (*Update: Tushek is offering a Hewland semi auto 6-speed gearbox with power shift on steering wheel as well as the 6-speed manual.)

Adjustable Rear Wing

450 horse isn’t exactly earth shattering these days, but when powering a car with a 2,500 pound curb weight, you get pretty quick performance numbers. The Renovatio T500 will do 3.7 seconds 0-62 and hit a top speed of 193 mph. Not blisteringly fast, but that’s very happily in Lamborghini Gallardo territory.

*Update: Tushek also offers an optional PPI compressor power kit good for 530 horse.

Exposed Front Suspension

Don’t worry. It isn’t that bad for the environment. The Tushek Renovatio T500 will get you 25 mpg on the highway and 16 mpg in town. Braking isn’t bad either at 62 mph to stopped in 95 feet using 15 inch carbon ceramic vented rotors with six-piston calipers up front and 14 inch vented carbon ceramics in 4 pistons calipers out back.

Tushek Renovatio T500 Electro-Hydraulic Scissor Doors

The chassis is nicely set up as well. The Renovatio T500 has a chromoly steel frame with integrated roll cage for great torsional rigidity. The rear of the car has a double wishbone rig. The front uses a pushrod operated suspension with one-way manually adjustable ride height. Strap on some Conti Force Contact semislick tires (Front: 235/35/R19, Rear: 305/30/R19) on aluminum forged wheels and the whole thing is set up to achieve 1.7gs.The carbon fiber and composite body isn’t large. In fact, at 4,270 mm in length, 1,990 mm in width and 1,050 in total height the Tushek Renovatio T500 is just about the same size as the Ferrari 458 Italia.

Tushek Renovatio T500 Alcantara & Carbon Fiber Interior

Tushek Renovatio T500

Speaking of body, the Tushek Renovatio T500 has the performance chops of a supercar, but what about the look? Well…crazy bright colors, check. Carbon fiber accents inside and out, check. Aggressive stance, check. Scissor doors, check. In fact the scissor doors are electro-hydraulically operated. (Take that Lamborghini.) All in all, the Renovatio T500 is a very good looking car. With the removable hardtop on or off, it looks all business. The front suspension viewable through the bonnet is a nice touch.The Renovatio T500 comes standard or can be optioned with a good list of features such as HANS compatible carbon fiber racing seats with 4-point seatbelts, alcantara and carbon fiber interior, adjustable pedals, adjustable carbon fiber rear wing, AIM Pista instruments with GPRS telemetry, central fire supression, ABS, brake and suspension upgrades, bluetooth, mp3, heated seats and auto air conditioning. As a matter of fact, if you want it, odds are Tushek offers it. So, what’s the verdict. As their first foray into the supercar world, Slovenia has done a marvelous job with the Renovatio T500. Now they just have to get one to the states for me to drive. Until then…